Confessions of a Train Geek

Busy Times in Grand Forks

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Our family made a quick trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota this past weekend for 48 hours and 10 minutes, to do some shopping. The weather was not fantastic but we made it there and back safely.

On the way down, we saw CN 523 coming into Emerson around 16:50 with three units on the head end (including an SD40 in the middle position) and about 70 mixed cars. I was not able to stop to take any shots.

I managed to get out to do some railfanning on Saturday afternoon (Feb 6). I went up to the BNSF yard on Demers Avenue and saw the Amtrak shack. It is an unremarkable building!

Things got busy pretty quickly. I saw a train heading west out of the yard and moved back to the Amtrak depot to shoot it... until I realized it was going down the east leg of the wye to head south. I quickly drove over to the crossing and shot it there at 12:30.

It went on and on. I gave up shooting about a dozen cars from the end.

I noticed a BNSF unit shunting in the yard, BNSF 2973. It looked like a close relative to BNSF 2978, which used to be in Winnipeg until very recently. There were two big units by the BNSF shops, one of which was BNSF 5498.

There were NO TRESPASSING signs everywhere, so I shot this from just off the road. I couldn't see the other unit's number without trespassing.

I saw a short freight coming east into the yard at 13:20, and made an attempt to film it. I haven't looked at the footage yet but I think it will not be good! The train had BNSF 2969 and BNSF 2735 on the head end.

Shortly after that, another train arrived in the yard from the north at 13:30, with BNSF 2731 and BNSF 3037 for power.

On the way back to Winnipeg on Sunday, I saw CN 522 rolling north around Ste Agathe, MB with a single unit on the head end and about 50 grain cars. It was dark, snowy and windy so I did not stop to shoot it.

I look forward to my next visit to Grand Forks!

Traffic Jam

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0000

I went out at lunch to shoot the Canadian at Waverley Street. It turns out there was a bit of a traffic jam on the CN Rivers subdivision. When I arrived at Waverley, an eastbound intermodal was rolling by with 8819? on the tail end. When it passed, I saw another eastbound stopped on the north track east of the crossover switch. There was a CN MOW crew doing work on the crossover switch on the north track. I waited for a bit, and the Canadian showed up at 12:30.

The Canadian's consist was:
VIA 6424
VIA 6440
VIA 8616
VIA 8107
VIA 8503
VIA 8411 Imperial
VIA 8319 Dawson Manor
VIA 8301 Abbot Manor
VIA 8321 Draper Manor
VIA 8209 Chateau Iberville
VIA 8707 Kokanee Park

Once they passed, the eastbound freight left, and there was nothing in sight.

For those keeping score, this is the 22nd Canadian I have seen since moving to Winnipeg six months ago. Time flies when you're having fun!

Pense Grain Elevator

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I was railfanning outside Regina in August 2008 and took a few photos of the Viterra grain elevator at Pense, Saskatchewan.

Of course, we all know that grain elevators look best with a train in front of them, so...

Dugald Grain Elevator

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

When I was out on February 3, I took some shots of the grain elevator in Dugald, Manitoba, a little east of Winnipeg on the CN Reddit subdivision. It does not look like this elevator is still in production.

You can see that the Manitoba Pool / Agricore logo was removed.

There is quite a bit of information on the elevator here. This elevator was built in 1949 shortly after the tragic Dugald train accident.

Sanford Grain Elevator

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I mentioned I had shot a CEMR train near Sanford, MB. After the train went by, I took some shots of the elevator itself.

As you can see from the next picture, the elevator is active and has its own siding.

Sunset Shooting

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The kids and I went over to the east side of Winnipeg late Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to take pictures of the grain elevator in Dugald, and I was hoping a train would come by when I was there. No train came by, so I went up to see what was happening with CP.

There was nothing visible when I got to Day Street, so I looked in the CEMR yard. I saw CEMR 4013 looking as bad as she did back in October 2009, now with a tarp half off the back end. ANY 5232 and ex-CP 5396 were there as well. CP 3027 and CP 1127 were idling together in CP's North Transcona yard.

Back at Day Street, a headlight was visible to the west. It turned out to be CP 114, rolling out with CP 9729 on the head end and CP 9527 as the DPU unit. It was 4:50 PM and the sun was quickly setting.

After that, we headed toward home. I saw CN 5557 and CN 8863 at the head of a train in Symington Yard when we passed. Funny to see an old unit like 5557 leading.

The sun was a red ball near the horizon, but with a weird flame-like distortion above it. I had to stop and take a picture. Prairie sunsets are often quite beautiful.

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steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:25:00 +0000

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CN and VIA Today

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I went up to St. James Junction to shoot the Canadian today, and as often happens, I got a bonus train.

When I arrived at the Junction, I saw BNSF was waiting to leave their yard. The caboose was on the head end of a series of cars, and the power was somewhere at the other end. They were close enough to Taylor Avenue to trigger the crossing bells, so their ringing provided a background to my train watching.

A CN westbound freight rolled by at 12:15 on the south track. CN 2256 and 5648 headed up a set of empty centerbeam flats, followed by a long string of container cars.

I see a lot of ES44DC units in Winnipeg, but 2256 rang a bell for some reason. Looking in my railway sightings database, I see I saw that unit back on October 23, 2009 on another westbound freight. I've seen CN 5648 before too, back on August 21, 2009.

Anyway, enough nostalgia. The Canadian came along at 12:26, close to 15 minutes late.

The complete consist: five-eyed VIA 6418, VIA 6404, VIA 8605, VIA 8117, VIA 8502, VIA 8414 Palliser, VIA 8326 Franklin Manor, VIA 8338 Rogers Manor, VIA 8336 Monck Manor, VIA 8219 Chateau Montcalm, VIA 8710 Prince Albert Park.

After the Canadian passed, BNSF did not seem like they were going to head out anytime soon, so that was the end of train watching for me.

CP 4563 Video

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

mygirl22ward posted a video of a CP freight with CP 4563 and 4573 (trailing CP 5627) in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September 1994. CP 4563 definitely looked the worse for wear here.

Crossing at Diamond

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:12:00 +0000

I went out to shoot the Canadian on Saturday (Jan 30) and got more than I had hoped for.

My kids and I went out in search of the Canadian. I decided to head up to Wilkes Avenue by the Perimeter and shoot it there before heading into town. We arrived a bit early, so I figured I would head west to Diamond to get some of that nice prairie sky. As I approached Diamond (where CP crosses CN) I saw an eastbound intermodal train coming on the north track at 12:09. I pulled over. I could see only one unit on the head end, meaning there had to be a DPU unit somewhere in the train.

As the head end passed me, the train started slowing and eventually came to a stop with the trailing engine (CN 2258) just west of me.

As the CN train was slowing, I heard a series of horn blasts from the north. After a bit of thought, I realized it could mean only one thing - a CP train on the Glenboro subdivision! The Glenboro sub does not get much traffic these days, and in fact CP intends to abandon some of it.

Once the CN train stopped, I raced to the actual diamond to see CP 3106 and 3116 waiting at the light in the distance.

They were waiting for the Canadian, which rolled past at 12:24, right on time.

Right after the Canadian passed, the CP train proceeded across the diamond and continued south.

By then my shooting hand and my toes were frozen, so it was time to go. It was nice to see the diamond get some use!

Lake Louise

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I stumbled across some photos I took back on August 11, 2002 when I visited Lake Louise in Alberta. We stopped at the former CP station there and took a few photos of the passenger cars. While we were there, one westbound CP freight rolled by on the new main track, then an eastbound freight rolled up to the station and stopped.

The eastbound had CP 9556 leading, another unit, then CP 9560 trailing. My son and I were invited up in the cab, so we had a quick look around.

There are several passenger cars there, including diner Delamere.

The station itself is quite impressive. This picture does not do it justice.

I hope to get out there next summer and take much better photos of the area... and hopefully see a few trains go by at the same time.

Port Elgin Bridge

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:00:00 +0000

I saw a news article in the Sackville Tribune Post that said the Port Elgin railway bridge is being replaced by a "190-foot through-truss bridge with a 12-foot wide wood deck so it will be suitable for snowmobiles, walking and cycling."

Port Elgin received a railway connection when the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Railway was completed in 1886 to link Sackville with Cape Tormentine. The NB&PEI Railway was absorbed into the Canadian Government Railways, which became CN. The line was abandoned by the end of 1989, coincident with the abandonment of all railways on Prince Edward Island. Port Elgin was on CN's Tormentine Subdivision, at mile 19.9.

The Port Elgin bridge was built in 1917 and was a swing bridge, rotating at its centre to provide passage for boats. I wonder if there any photos of this bridge out there in someone's collection?

I Think I Can, I Think I Can

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:36:00 +0000

Remember this book?

I saw the modern version of that today. I was driving around the Perimeter Highway today in Winnipeg, intending to catch VIA's Canadian at Wilkes Avenue before heading into the city. As I approached the CP La Riviere track, I saw a long southbound grain train approaching the highway. I could see that it was going to cross the highway before I got to the crossing. I decided to exit and take a shot of it after it crossed the highway. I rushed over to get the shot, and here it is at 12:08.

I returned to the highway and got in line for the crossing. The train continued on, car after car, and as I watched I could see it going slower and slower. I could hear the engineer talking with the RTC and the train was in trouble. That single AC4000CW was struggling to pull almost 100 grain cars up the gentle grade. Soon it was proceeding at a walking pace, then a crawl, then ... it stopped.

I heard that CP 3116? (or 3118, can't remember) was working a couple of miles north, with another Boyko in the engineer's chair, and I was wondering if Mr Boyko would have to come give this train a push. Suddenly the grain cars started moving again, slowly, then gaining speed, and finally, 17 minutes later, the crossing was clear. The little red engine COULD!

Normally I love being stopped by a train, but that was a little much!

During this time, I heard that VIA 1 (the Canadian) had stopped at Waverley. It turned out that VIA 6420 was not loading and they had to wait for someone to come look at the engine. The Thursday CEMR train ended up going around them, and I grabbed a quick shot of them as they approached Carman Junction.

Hudson Bay Photos From 1994

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I stumbled across these photos by Jim Bissell of VIA's Hudson Bay train at this site. I like seeing the old blue and yellow colours.

Two Hudson Bays Meet - VIA 692, the southbound Hudson Bay with FP9A 6301 in the lead meets the northbound Hudson Bay, train 693 near Wabowden, Manatoba in September, 1994. By Jim Bissell.

VIAs Train 693, The Hudson Bay. Two beautiful FP9s (6302 & 6300) with the Hudson Bay at Thompson, Manitoba in September of 1994. Photo and scan by Jim Bissell.

Note the steam generator car behind the two FP9s, and the ex-CP car on the end.

An Accident-Prone Week?

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Two stories came out on Tuesday involving trains and accidents here in Winnipeg. The first involved a woman's SUV that got stuck on the tracks at a rural crossing and was smoked by a CP train. Fortunately she had bailed out of the vehicle and was unhurt.

The second involved a minor derailment at the south end of Symington Yard. The intersection of Fermor and Plessis (near the Fermor overpass over the tracks) was closed for about an hour. The picture in the article shows some tank cars, so perhaps they were concerned about propane or some other material leaking. A CN truck was apparently sideswiped and damaged, and fortunately the occupant was unharmed.

Keep safe out there!

Today's Hudson Bay

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:00:00 +0000

I braved the cold today to shoot the Hudson Bay leaving Winnipeg. We had a bit of a blizzard Sunday night and Monday morning, but the roads were mostly cleared by Tuesday. It left a nice clean blanket of snow for the pictures. The brilliant sunshine helped, too.

The Hudson Bay got clearance to leave the station downtown at 12:18, about 13 minutes after its scheduled departure time. It rolled past CN 403, in the Fort Rouge yard dropping off a bad order car, before passing me at St. James Junction at 12:29. The engineer in the left hand seat gave me a nice wave.

The consist was engines VIA 6458 and 6438; baggage car 8600; coaches 8110 (empty) and 8100; diner 8418 York; and sleeper 8229 Chateau Viger. A fellow in 8100 gave me a wave, too.

Soon enough, they were gone and so was I.

Hudson Bay Railway Locomotives

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Dormitator1 posted a walk-about video showing some Hudson Bay Railway locomotives. Normally I dislike this kind of video, where the videographer moves but the locos don't, but the subject matter is interesting enough to make it worthwhile. Of special interest to me was a glimpse of OSS 3757 at about 1:15 in the video. 3757 is ex-NBSR 3757, a GP9E.

CP 4563 at Work

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

CP 4563 is preserved at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec. I had the privilege of seeing her back in 2005, and again in 2007 when she was run to McAdam for the CP Pensioners gathering.

mygirl22ward posted a video of a CP single-stack container train near Chicago featuring 4563 as the second unit (and MLW C424 CP 4215 as the third unit). Enjoy.

The same user posted a video of the big Alco units that CP ran. This video was shot on May 26, 1993, as the MLW units were fast being retired from CP. Great Alco sights and sounds!

GEe Whiz

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I was running an errand Thursday afternoon (Jan 21) and found myself near the CN Rivers sub in Winnipeg. Fortunately there was a train nearby. CN train 312 was heading in with CN 2691 and ex-BC Rail 4619 for power, and I shot it in the flat light. It was a long train, about 120 cars, and it had a rarity, a female conductor. NTTAWWT but it doesn't happen a lot.

Right after 312 finally passed, CP 3098 headed south on the La Riviere sub across the diamond.

Finally, CN 114 pulled up to the signals short of the diamond and stopped. Apparently CN 312 was stopped up ahead so 114 had to wait. 114 had CN 5525 and CN 5660 for power. This was my first time seeing 5525 but CN 5660 is an old friend.

Export Train

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

CN ran a special train #316 to bring eight locomotives to Halifax, NS for export to the UK. The train had CN 2529 for power and consisted of eight Euro Cargo "Class 66" locomotives, with an idler flat car on each end.

David Othen filmed the train on January 21 at Windsor Junction, Bedford Basin, Fairview Junction, and on the lead to Pier 9 in Halifax. It's an exceptional video, up to David's high standards.

DPU 101

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I went up to CN Waverley Tuesday (Jan 19) at about 12:30. I saw a westbound container train was parked on the south track near Fort Rouge, and a dim headlight was visible to the west. I learned the container train was CN 101 and it was about to start up. The other train turned out to be an eastbound local, and it paused west of Waverley Street.

CN 101 rumbled by with CN 2296 and CN 5274 on the head end. The conductor gave me a nice wave on the way by. I wish I could have waved back but my hands were busy with the cameras. I watched 101 roll by, and then I saw CN 2268 was the distributed power (DPU) about 1/3 of the way back in the train.

Once 101 finished rolling by, the local rolled through Waverley Street, with CN 7238, slug CN 238, and two boxcars. They seem to have timed it so they would cross while 101 was still holding the crossing gates down.

I was expecting the Hudson Bay to come along, but I heard it was just leaving the station at 12:50 and that was too late for me.

BNSF Changes Engines

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

BNSF 2001 was replaced as the Winnipeg engine by BNSF 2978 on January 5, 2010. Jeff Keddy reported it and saw 2001 in the CN Fort Rouge yard that afternoon. BNSF 2978 is a GP39V. I saw it in the BNSF yard off Taylor Avenue on Tuesday (January 19). BNSF 2001 arrived in Winnipeg on or near October 14, 2009.

Saskatchewan Grain Elevators

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Grain elevator, Chaplin SK, August 17 2008

I have a special fondness for grain elevators. There's something about these prairie sentinels that stirs the imagination. Standing by railway tracks, they are a unique symbol of the Prairies. Unfortunately, they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

In 1999/2000, the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, in association with the Ministry of Saskatchewan Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport, commissioned a study to list all the grain elevators remaining in the province of Saskatchewan. The study found about 800 remaining elevators. Several years later, the study was updated and 543 remained by July 2006. This inventory has those elevators.

Saskatchewan Grain Elevator Inventory

I should recommend the Saskatchwan Grain Elevator blog and Grain Elevators Canada as good references for photos of Canadian grain elevators.

Grain elevator, Chaplin SK, August 17 2008

What Are These?

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:59:00 +0000

Tim Scammell found these in the Fredericton train station and is curious what they are. The tubular things look like brake hoses but apparently the spikes fit inside them. Any ideas?

CEMR on the Prairie

steve@theboykos.com (Train Geek) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:15:00 +0000

I was off last Thursday (Jan 14), so my youngest son and I went out to see some trains in the late morning. My intention was to shoot the Canadian then proceed north to CP to see what was up.

We went up the Perimeter on the west side of Winnipeg. I heard CEMR 4000 (as CN train 525) report to the RTC that it was off the main line, meaning that it was on the Carman subdivision. Good to know!

We west on Wilkes Avenue to a spot near Diamond. I didn't want to stay out of the car, due to the cold, so I set up the video camera and parked facing east. I jumped out of the car every now and then to see if I could hear the train. It turned out that I didn't hear it, so I was a little later getting to the video camera than I would have liked. Still, I think it turned out OK.

There were two Chateau sleepers deadheading ahead of the baggage car and behind 6441 and 6425.

I took this going-away shot and then headed back to see what CEMR was doing.

I found CEMR 4000 and 4002 switching at Oak Bluff at 12:39.

It looked like they would be there for a while, so we went to have lunch. When we returned, CEMR was still switching, so we went north back to Wilkes Avenue. I could see an eastbound CN train across the prairie at Diamond so we hustled to catch it. It turned out to be CN 2648 and 5722 leading a paper products / autorack train.

After the train passed, we went back south to Oak Bluff and found the CEMR train had just left. We gave chase down highway 3 toward Carman. I had never been in this area before, so I didn't have any idea where the good shots were. However, on the prairies, every shot is pretty good. After about 15 minutes, I was far enough ahead so I picked a spot to leave the highway and went down a rural road to near the tracks. I set up the tripod and we waited for the train to come. Soon enough, CEMR 4000 came into view across the prairie.

This telephoto shot shows how the prairie is not exactly flat around Winnipeg, just rolling.

As I panned the video camera, I noticed a grain elevator just south of us. Darn it! That would have been a better backdrop. Next time...

We chased it down to Sanford, and then gave up the chase since I had other business to attend to. I'm glad I had this little sojourn down the Carman sub, and I look forward to more railfanning in the area.